Gall stones post sleeve

Yep that's true but I know I definitely didn't have them pre-sleeve as I had a abdo CT scan just before for an unrelated matter which showed no signs of stones, gravel or sludge.


cheers Nini

Half the population have gall stones of some sort, whether small or large, but never have any problems or symptoms and so the majority of people simply never know they have them.

I think, from memory, something like 15 - 30 % of WLS patients will go on to develop gall stones. 

Yep, 7 months after being Sleeved I had to have my gall bladder out. Now I know for a fact that I didn't have any gall stones prior to my weight loss so they developed in those 7 months. It started with a few weeks of vague feeling of nausea after I ate and then developed into severe pain episodes.

Interesting fact - since I had my cholecystectomy I can no longer take any medication with codeine in it. It now gives me agonizing bile duct spasm with pain similar, if not worse, than a gall stone attack. Took me a while to figure out what was causing it (even the Emergency Depart. Dr didn't pick it up). But when I started to suspect that Panadeine was the culprit I Googled it and there it was. It only happens to some people post gall bladder removal. Anyone else get this side effect?


cheers Nini

I lost 50+kg back in 2001,  years before my sleeve and had to have mine removed after massive attacks.

 First thing my surgeon said to me  after hearing about my previous weight loss is did I have gallbladder issues.

Gallstones are a real problem when someone has lost a lot of weight.  I lost about 25kgs 11 years ago, and then the attacks started.  First thing Dr at the hospital asked me, have you lost a large amount of weight recently?
So yep, I am glad mine is already out!  I get sleeved in less than 6 weeks.

PS. There are probably a few previous posts on the forum about this subject too if you do a search.  I know some of the ladies I keep in touch with who were sleeved at the same time as me, 3 of us in a group of 15 have had our gall bladders out since our surgery 1 year ago  :)

OH YEAH!!  I had no idea about gall stones pre sleeve.  When I had gall stone attacks 6 months post op only then did  I realise how much it is of an issue to post sleevers.  Rapid weight loss is one of the biggest things for gall stone issues, another is obesity!!  It has something to do with the liver producing more cholestorol while losing alot of weight and this causing more stones to form or something (don't quote me on that though).  My doctor said that I'd had gall stones for many years (been making them for over 10 years or so he said) but because of the weight loss it had started to cause problems, ultimately I had to get it out after 6 weeks of many attacks.  I have a friend who lost all his weight naturally over a few years and he had gall bladder issues as well because of the weight loss.  I have read that 50% of sleevers have to eventually have their gall bladders out post sleever.  In America, some doctors now even take out the gall bladder as part of the sleeve surgery (do it at the same time), but doubt that would happen in Australia any time soon.

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone had Gall bladder problems or gall stones following having a sleeve done and needed to have their Gall bladder removed.

I am 2 months post op from sleeve and looks like I have developed gall stones, awaiting ultrasound to confirm.

Has anyone else suffered this???